The Hogwarts Nativity Play
by Hogwarts Official
Summary: A collection of Christmas-themed stories written by members of A Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments).
1. The Angel Gabriel

**The Angel Gabriel**

 _Written by: Lin (MarvelGeek42)_

Regulus Black was completely and utterly, absolutely and without a doubt, lost.

Not physically speaking, oh no. He knew exactly where he was; it was hard not to, he was standing in the dead center of Hogsmeade. There were numerous other students around the third year that he could ask for directions, were he to get totally confused.

He meant it in a more spiritual and metaphorical sense.

You see, he had been told by his parents that he was to buy them Christmas presents and this was only his second time in the village. He had no idea what he could possibly get them.

What would they enjoy? It was easy to figure out some things they would not like, but the opposite proved to be significantly harder.

And if that wasn't difficult enough, Regulus also struggled with the supposedly easy task of figuring out who he was supposed to buy presents for.

His parents, sure. But after that, things got a tad more complicated.

Because the list of people he was _supposed_ to buy presents for and the list of people he _wanted_ to buy presents for differed enormously.

Take his cousin Andromeda, for example. She had left the family—for a _Muggleborn_ at that—and consequently she did not deserve a single thing from Regulus or anyone else.

That did, however, not change the fact that it did not feel like that.

Apart from Sirius and Narcissa, Andromeda had always been his favorite among his numerous relatives. And now he was supposed to dismiss and ignore her, simply because she had married the person she loved?

Regulus sighed and ran a hand to his hair. He needed to focus. Thinking about Andromeda would not help him in any way, shape or form.

He could get the gifts for the people he was supposed to first and then the others, he supposed. It wasn't as if money would be a problem. His parents made sure he had a more than ample allowance.

Now armed with a plan, he moved to the next best shop window, not bothering to look at the sign. It was a small store that sold quills.

Narcissa would enjoy some of the more elegant ones here, but he would have to make sure not to buy her any she would already have in her collection. He could think of no way to completely ensure that, but by asking the clerk for the newest one he had the highest chance.

Once he was done with that, me moved onto the clothing store with the intention to buy something for his mother and cousin Bellatrix.

That proved to be way harder than expected once again, because why on earth shouldn't it? He should really start expecting something like this.

Eventually, after a lot of consideration and quite some help from one of the workers, he managed to decide on a robe for Bellatrix and a scarf for his mother, because he really had no other idea what she could possibly like.

That left his grandfather, father, Sirius, his friends—Ana, Stewart, and Severus—and, possibly, if he had the time, Andromeda.

The presents for Severus and Sirius were surprisingly easy to find. He simply entered Zonko's and the potion shop and asked for the newest product they had. They might have had the chance to buy these thing themselves, but Regulus couldn't see either of them being disappointed at having more.

Getting something for Stewart was the easiest of all, because going into Honeydukes and grabbing random candy until he had gotten to his price limit was not hard at all.

After a bit of thought into it, the gift for Ana was fairly obvious, too. Given how obsessed she was with her cat, it was only reasonable to give her something for that beast.

Regulus mentally checked his list. He had Narcissa, his mother, Bellatrix, Sirius, Ana, Stewart, and Severus. That left his father and grandfather, and possibly, Andromeda.

At this point he had made it pretty obvious to himself that he wanted to do that, so why was he even questioning this.

It took several hours until he managed to find something for his father and grandfather. At the very least it felt like it, but once he did find something, he was very proud of it. For Father, he got a set of brushes, because Regulus knew that he always used the up quickly, and for Grandfather he decided to make something himself.

Grandfather had always said that the fact _that_ they were giving was important, not _what_ they did.

He made sure he still had enough time—and, surprisingly, he did—and quickly returned to the clothing store.

Andromeda had always loves scarves and he was sure she would like this one, too.

With a smile on his face, Regulis returned to the castle. He had gotten everything he needed.


	2. The Camel

**His First Happy Christmas**

 **The Camel**

 _Written by: Raven (Raven of the Shadows)_

Everything was once again covered in a sheet of white snow. Once again, Christmas was approaching. For a lot of people, this meant happiness, music, presents. For Tom, it meant even more misery.

He knew, like every year, his presents would be stolen away before he woke up. Like every year, others will enact the nativity play, sing carols, play games. Like every year, Tom Riddle would not be included.

Today, the older children were going to hold auditions for the play. The six-year-old knew that if they chose fairly, he would get a role. But they wouldn't. They never did.

He pushed the blankets off and stood up; others were still sleeping. Taking a quick shower while praying no one noticed he used hot water, he dressed himself in one of his two shirts, his only pair of pants, and a thin jacket which he had thankfully been given to keep warm. Shivering, he straggled out of the dorms and into the yard, and sat down by the huge rock. Sometimes snakes came out from underneath it—they were Tom's only friends—and no one dared to approach the rock.

They were stupid! Snakes never came out in winters. He waited for everyone to wake up. The older children would have breakfast first, and the other youngsters would claim the rest. If anything remained, he, the freak, could have it.

He hated this place for this reason. Mrs Cole thought the elder ones were responsible enough to manage the breakfast and other small activities. He sighed. At least she supervised lunch and dinner herself.

Soon, the dishes were empty, and Tom didn't get anything. Frederick, the oldest child in the orphanage, gathered everyone around and announced that they were going to choose actors for the play. Out of oblige, they called Tom for the auditions, and right then, his empty stomach growled.

Tom's cheeks reddened when everyone laughed. He clenched his fists and ran away.

.

The Christmas celebrations were going on, and the play was about to be presented. The actors climbed on the makeshift stage and took their positions. The play started, but Tom couldn't pay attention to it.

He scowled in the direction of the stage and dropped on to his knees. He crawled out of the place before anyone could notice him leaving.

The door to the building was locked.

Weird things—supernatural things—sometimes happened around him, so he decided to give it a go. Clutching the lock tightly in his hands, he willed it to open. It unlocked with a click.

A smile spread across his face. He walked inside and entered Frederick's room. Opening the older boy's cupboard in a similar way, Tom took the toys the older boy had stolen from him. Out of spite, he picked a few other things that caught his attention. For the first time in forever, a wide grin spread over Tom's face.

For the first time, he was happy on Christmas.


	3. Mary

**A Truth Too Terrible**

 **Mary**

 _Written by: Raven (Raven of the Shadows)_

"Daddy, there!"

Her father looked at where she was pointing and frowned. "That is a very bad infestation, isn't it?"

Luna nodded, deciding to ask Santa to take the Wrackspurts nest out of the poor man's head. She turned back to scanning the crowd for other invisible creatures. She and her father could see them only because of a potion her mother had made. Today, they were here in Diagon Alley to get some ingredients for the counter to that potion.

"There," her father pointed, and Luna's eyes widened. Did that shopkeeper not know that the nargles infested the mistletoe? She voiced the question to her father, who told her they didn't, because they didn't believe in what they couldn't see. Luna frowned. Well, they were stupid!

Luna and her father were playing this game to see who could spot out most creatures. So far, Luna was winning. She had even discovered two new ones her mother had not shown them before. Then, a thought occurred in her head. "Daddy, you are intentionally letting me win, aren't you?"

Xenophilius looked at his daughter and a smile tugged at his lips. She was just nine, but she perceptive and was very intelligent. Pandora had always said she was going to be a Ravenclaw. Xeno agreed. "No, dear," he said. "Let's go to the apothecary, shall we? Your Mum would be waiting for us to get home."

Luna smiled brightly and nodded. The Alley and decorated for Christmas and looked beautiful, but she couldn't wait to get home. It was Christmas Eve. They had stockings to hang and gifts to place under the tree. She and her mother were also going to make cookies for the Santa! She took her father's hand and started pulling him through the crowd faster. He laughed.

Just as they reached the store, Luna stopped. Xeno looked at her questioningly. Her eyes were staring into the distance, and a pained expression crept on her face. Xeno was slightly worried. At times, his daughter could See the events before they happened. "Wha—"

The familiar sensation of being pulled through a very tight rubber tube came over him. They were standing just a few yards away from their home. Music was playing, and Xeno couldn't help but smile. Pandora was still in the potions lab.

Xeno looked at his daughter, proud that she had accomplished such a difficult magical feat at nine, but confused as to why she had apparated them home. Before he could ask her, she let go of his hand and started running towards the house.

"Lu—"

His wife screamed from inside the house and Xeno looked up in alarm.

 _BOOM!_

The time slowed. Xeno felt his limbs go numb, watching in horror as the walls of his house were torn apart. The roof of the potions laboratory crumbled, and Xeno fell to his knees.

 _Pandora!_

She was in there. He stood up and ran towards the house. Luna was already there, staring at the wreckage in horror. Xeno dropped to his knees and started digging through the rubble with his bare hands. His ears were starving to hear some sound, any sound, of his wife.

He picked up another huge slab of cement and threw it away. The body of his wife came into view, and Xeno felt his blood run cold. There was blood… so much blood. In her scarlet robes, with blood spilling out of the gashes on her face and arms, she looked lifeless. But she couldn't be… No! She was still alive, he told himself.

He picked Pandora's limp form up and walked towards the garden. Laying her down on the soft grass, he started checking for the vitals. Somewhere behind him, two people appeared with small pops and walked up to where he was kneeling next to his wife. One of them introduced himself as an officer from Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. The other was a Healer.

The Healer kneeled next to him, waving his wand in complicated patterns. He turned to Xeno, a sad expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Mr Lovegood."

Xeno heard someone screaming as he fell to the ground. A minute later, he realised it he was the one screaming. "No!" he cried, cradling Pandora's head in his lap. "I love you, Pandora."

Luna was in shock. She stared at the broken form of her mother, her eyes full of sorrow. She had heard what the Healer had said, and she knew. She knew that her mother would never wake up again. That her mother would never brew potions, would never bake cookies with her, would never tell her stories. That her mother was _gone_. With shaky steps, she walked to where her father was sitting on the ground, crying. She had never seen him cry before.

Xeno felt a small hand on his arm and turned. His already shattered heart was crushed when he saw tears in his child's eyes. He wrapped his arm around her, feeling devastated when she didn't say anything. Like she knew what had happened. In this minute, Xeno hated the fact that his daughter was so mature.

They sat there together. For how long, Xeno did not know. From the ruins, Pandora's music box was still going, repeating one song over and over.

' _Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree  
Won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me'_

Xeno had never hated music so much.

Then, Luna spoke up, startling him out of his reverie.

"Daddy, is Santa real?" Xeno was stumped by her question. Before he could speak, she ran towards what was left of their house. He could see her climb the stairway from the gap in the wall. He was too consumed with his own thoughts to stop her.

Minutes later, she returned. She held a stocking in one hand and writing instruments in the other. Flopping on her ground, she started writing: "Dear Santa, for this Christmas, please return my Mummy."

Xeno's heart broke all over. He watched as she folded the parchment and stuffed it into the stocking. Her small body was shaking as she sobbed, but when she then turned to him, her wide eyes were full of hope. "Santa is real, Daddy. Isn't he?"

Xeno couldn't answer. For the truth was terrible. Far too terrible.


	4. Wise Man 1

**A Wise Man**

 _Written by: Princi (octocelot)_

"Scorpius!"

"Hm?"

Scorpius turns to look in the direction of his friend behind him, eyebrows raised. He's caught off guard just enough to be taken completely by surprise by a snowball hurled his way.

Clawing at his face and spitting out snow, he manages to somehow remain haughty as he glares down Albus. "Not funny," he glowers.

Albus just laughs at him, the tinkling, bell-like laugh that Scorpius has grown to cling onto like a lifeline. "It was funny, admit it."

"Do you want to have a fight _right now_?"

"Hell yeah!"

Scorpius glares more intensely, if it were possible. "That is not what you were supposed to say."

"Aw, is Scorpius feeling a little hurt because he didn't take the offensive first?" Albus walks over Scorpius, his boots making satisfying crunches in the snow. "He'll get his chance later."

"Why are you referring to me in the third person as if I'm not here?" Scorpius asks, phrasing his question more like a statement. He pretends to go rigid as Albus wraps his arms around his shoulders.

"Don't give me the cold shoulder!"

"I do what I want!"

"Sassy."

Scorpius turns towards Albus, a small smile gracing his lips. He leans forward, watches Albus's eyelids flutter closed… and shoves an entire fistfull of snow down Albus's neck.

Albus's eyes open wide, his mouth a perfect _o._ "How could you? I trusted you!"

"That was your first mistake!" Scorpius is already sprinting away from Albus, kicking up snow behind him. Clumsily, he takes out his wand with his gloved hand and starts to construct a snow fort. There is no way he can let Albus win this round. Too much is at stake, for example, his pride.

After all, what good is a transfiguration OWL if you can't use it to destroy a snowball fight opponent?

The fort walls raise above his head, and Scorpius cuts out a small section in the wall where he'll put his snowball cannon.

Albus had the same idea (or stole Scorpius's, though it's probably a little bit of both) and is constructing his fort too.

All the better to attack now.

Scorpius quickly lets loose a volley of snowballs that land near Albus's feet. So close. But at least he's enjoying Albus's frantic yelling and the way the walls Albus is constructing look a little lopsided.

"Faring okay, Albus?" Scorpius yells. "Do you need any help?"

"From you?" Albus manages to yell back. "I'm not completely crazy!"

"I'm...so hurt…" Scorpius says dryly. Then, he lets loose another volley of snowballs. Next time he gets the chance, he's going to practice a spell that will make him a temporary snow zombie. Then, he'll really be able to corner Albus. He smirks to himself, imagining the look on Albus's face when he realizes that he's surrounded on both sides. Okay, so maybe he is a little evil.

Finally, gravity does too much, and Albus's wall crumbles to the ground.

Scorpius considers continuing pelting Albus with his practically endless supply of snowballs, but instead, he just puts his wand away and laughs, then calls across the yard, "Who's winning now?"

"Why are you _so mean to me_?" Albus whines.

"You deserve every bit of this!" Even so, Scorpius steps out from behind his fortress and walks towards Albus, all but waving a white flag. "Drying charms," he fusses.

Albus rolls his eyes. "Are you always like this?"

"Don't you know me well enough to know the answer to that question?" Scorpius smiles and casts drying and warming charms on Albus's coat. It wouldn't do for him to catch a cold on his first day at Malfoy Manor.

Albus had decided to go home with Scorpius for winter break rather than back to his own family. About halfway through beak, Mr. Potter would come pick him up and hopefully confirm that he had been treated well. As if, Scorpius scoffs. The Malfoys would never mistreat a friend.

Scorpius intended for Albus to be so entranced by the Malfoy Manor (and himself, he wasn't going to lie) that he wouldn't want to leave. Wishful thinking maybe, but Scorpius liked the idea of not having to share Albus with anyone. At school, he'd gotten a little used to it.

"Thinking about anything?" Albus asks, tilting his face upward.

"Just about how much of an idiot you are."

" _What_? Do you want to get in a second snowball fight? I'm down to go _right now._ "

Scorpius chuckles. "No, but how does hot chocolate sound?"


	5. Elizabeth

**Elizabeth**

 **Duties**

 _Written by: Sam (HP Slash Luv)_

Fleur knocked on the door.

Victoire had just put her shoes under her bed, but she looked up when her bedroom door opened. "Is it time?" she asked excitedly.

Fleur nodded.

Victoire stood up, and in stocking feet, she raced from the room.

At one time, Fleur had been jealous of this particular tradition because it wasn't one she was allowed to share with her daughter. It was something just been Bill and Victoire. Now though, Fleur knew it wasn't meant to be a slight to her; it was simply daddy-daughter bonding time.

She walked past the main room but couldn't help but peek into it.

Victoire and Bill sat together on the rug by the fireplace. There was a plate of cookies between them and two glasses of milk.

Victoire talked animatedly about whatever was currently interesting to the nine-year old and Bill listened intently. He hung on every word his oldest daughter said.

There was such love in both of their eyes, and Fleur's heart warmed. She knew this time was important to the pair, so she left them to it.

Victoire dipped another chocolate chip cookie in her glass of milk. "Do you know that Louis talked to someone the other day? I don't think it was someone magical. Anyways, he learned about someone named Santa Claus."

Bill nodded. "I heard that name from your Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione. Muggle children grow up believing that a man named Santa Claus brings presents to all of the good little boys and girls in the world."

"That's a lot of presents. How can anyone believe some man can do that all by himself?"

Bill grinned. "Magic of course."

Victoire laughed. "I think Louis might actually believe in this Santa guy."

Bill waved it away as he dipped his own cookie into his milk. "I'm not that worried. It's not horrible for him to believe in such a thing."

"What happens if he gets upset when he finds out there is no such thing as Santa Claus?"

Bill put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle it. It's not your job to worry about Louis, or Dominique for that matter."

"I'm the oldest; it kind of comes with the territory," Victoire explained.

"Trust me. I get it. I'm... Well, I'm much, much older than you, and I still worry about all of my little brothers and my little sister."

"The duties of a big sister and brother are never done," Victoire stated seriously.

Bill nodded in agreement.

They were silent as they went back to simply enjoying their milk and cookies, and basking in each other's company.


	6. Joseph

**Innocence Saved**

 **Joseph**

 _Written by: Sam (HP Slash Luv)_

Six-year-old Lily Evans sat up in bed. She pouted as she brushed her red bangs out of her eyes. She knew she should be asleep, but it was Christmas Eve. How could she fall asleep with the excitement bubbling inside of her? The very notion of going to sleep that night was utterly ridiculous.

She sighed. Her mummy said that if she didn't go to sleep, Santa Claus wouldn't bring her presents. That _couldn't_ be true, though. She was good the rest of the year. Well, _most_ of the rest of the year at least. One night of naughtiness wouldn't erase all of the good she did, right?

She pushed the covers off of her and got out of bed. She went to her bedroom door and opened it slowly. She peeked out. She looked from the left to the right. The coast was clear.

With a smile, she crept from her room and went to the banister. She looked over it at the gleaming Christmas tree.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Why was her mummy putting presents under the tree? Wasn't that Santa's job? What was going on?

She took a step back as her mind whirled with the possibilities of what her mummy secretly putting presents under the tree might mean. "What's going on?" she whispered.

"Lily!" a voice hissed behind her.

Lily jumped and turned around. She stared unblinkingly at her older sister.

Ten-year-old Petunia Evans had her arms crossed, and she didn't seem too impressed with finding her sister out and about. "What are you doing out of bed?" she whispered.

"I wanted to see the tree," Lily explained, her voice still a whisper.

Petunia stepped to the banister and looked over it. She saw what Lily saw. Lily was ready for a look of confusion to cross Petunia's face, but instead, Petunia looked scared.

"Tuney, what's wrong?" Lily asked.

Petunia looked at her. She grabbed Lily's hand and pulled hard, leading the redhead back to her bedroom.

Once they were in the room, Petunia shut the door. "You should get back into bed, Lily," Petunia commanded.

Lily was stubborn, though, and she wasn't going to forget what she saw. "Why was Mummy putting presents under the tree? That's Santa's job."

Petunia bit her bottom lip. "Well, you see..."

A terrible thought came to Lily's mind, and she asked the question before she could stop herself. "Is Santa Claus not real?"

"Of course Santa Claus is real. Mum and Dad wouldn't lie to us about something like that."

Lily shook her head. "I didn't _think_ so, but Mum had the presents, and she was putting them under the tree..." she trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

"Um, well, you see..."

Lily waited patiently. She stared up at Petunia, certain that her big sister had all of the knowledge in the world.

"Okay, this is what happened. Santa Claus came and must have given Mum the presents to put under the tree, so he could get to the next house that much quicker. After all, Santa Claus likes to stay ahead of schedule."

"But I thought Santa comes when we're sleeping. Why did he come if Mum, and you, and me was awake?"

Petunia put on a smile, but to Lily's untrained eyes, it looked rather forced, especially with all of the teeth she was showing. "Well, Santa made a simple miscalculation. He probably thought everyone was sleeping."

"I thought Santa knows everything, though. Like the song. _'He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.'_ Why wouldn't he realize that there were people awake in the house?"

Petunia fell back on something she heard her parents say from time to time. "Everyone makes mistakes. Even mystical beings like Santa Claus. All that knowledge doesn't make Santa perfect. It was all probably just one big mistake. It's a mistake he won't make next year. _That's_ for sure."

Lily nodded. She guessed that made sense. Lily made mistakes all of the time. And so did Petunia, and her mummy and daddy. Even her teacher made mistakes once in a while. Why couldn't Santa Claus make a mistake as well? "Okay, I believe you." And she did. Petunia never lied about anything.

Petunia let out a sigh of relief. "Good. That's good. Now, are you ready to go to bed? The sooner you go to sleep, the soon you can wake up and open all of the presents Santa brought you."

Lily looked at her bed but didn't really want to go to it. "I'm not sure I'll be able to fall asleep," she admitted quietly. "What if Santa comes and takes back the presents? Because I didn't go to sleep at my bedtime like a good little girl?" she asked, suddenly worried that he would see that she was awake and decide she didn't deserve her presents after all.

"He won't do that," Petunia hastily reassured her. "Once they're at the house, they're ours for keeps. He never takes back the presents, so don't worry about that."

Lily nodded. Her eyes drooped. Maybe she did feel a little tired after all. She looked at Petunia. "Tuney, can you stay with me until I fall asleep? Maybe tell me a story?"

Petunia looked longingly at the bedroom door but then, she looked into Lily's wide, green eyes. "Sure. I guess," she grudgingly agreed.

Lily smiled happily and ran to her bed, while Petunia followed at a more sedate pace.

Lily climbed into bed and under the covers. Petunia sat down next to her, her back against the headboard while Lily snuggled against her side. Her head was pillowed on Petunia's leg, her red hair fanned everywhere. "Story?" she sleepily asked.

Petunia knew it wouldn't take long for Lily to be out for the night, but she began a made-up story anyways. "Once upon a time, there was this good witch, who always wanted to help everyone. And she had the power she needed to help. She used a wand, said magic words, and made things happen. Do you know what this witch's name was?"

There was no answer. Petunia looked and saw that Lily's eyes were already closed and her breathing was deep.

Petunia smiled. "Her name was Lily," she whispered, even though there would be no finishing the story.

She tried to get out of bed, but Lily's tiny hand clutched her leg even tighter.

Petunia sighed. She had a feeling she was spending the night here. She scooted down and Lily's head automatically adjusted so it was resting on top of Petunia shoulder. Petunia used Lily's currently unused pillow for herself, and together, the sisters finally slept that Christmas Eve.


	7. A Roman Soldier

**No Presents**

 **Roman Soldier**

 _Written by: Raven (Raven of the Shadows)_

It is Christmas. From the windows of this room in this room of the Janus Thickey Ward of St Mungo's, you can see the thick layer of snow in the street outside. It is as cheerful as a room could be in a hospital.

The patient in this room is still sleeping when the Healer, Miriam Strout, a motherly woman dressed in green robes, enters. "Good morning, Gilderoy," she says, a warm smile on her face. "It is time to wake up."

The man buries his face in the pillow, his blond hair sticking out in various directions. "G'way!" he mumbles and tries to burrow himself into the pillow.

"Um hmm," the Healer says, smiling cheerfully. "Do you not know what day is today?"

The man hums something; it sounds like he is reciting the seven days of the week. "L'me sleep!"

"Merry Christmas, Gilderoy!"

At this, the patient, Gilderoy Lockhart, turns over and his blandly handsome face with blue eyes comes into view. The once bestseller writer throws the blanket off and jumps out of the bed clumsily, hitting his toe on leg of the bedside table.

"Oww!" He flops back on the bad and rubs his foot, then remembers it is Christmas. He looks around for his presents and frowns when there's nothing but a small box lying on the bedside table. "Where are my presents?" he asks the Healer.

The Healer gives him a sad smile and picks up the small box, which is given to all the patients who stay there on Christmas by the hospital. Gilderoy takes it and rips the packing off. Inside is a single chocolate frog. He quickly opens it and stuffs the chocolate in his mouth, making the Healer giggle. He turns the card over and scowls at the picture of Albus Dumbledore that comes into view. That man has too long hair, and isn't even handsome. Why don't they print his picture, instead?

Tossing the card on the bed, Gilderoy look up at the Healer. "Where are my other presents?"

"No more presents for you," the Healer says, shaking her head. She pities the man, even though she knows he's just paying for his own sins. She doesn't think anyone deserves a fate like this. She shakes a finger at him. "Perhaps you've been a naughty boy this year, so Santa didn't get you any more presents."

Gilderoy stares at her, open mouthed. Did she not no Santa isn't real. He isn't a kid, for Merlin's sake! "There's no such thing as Santa. And I should get presents! I always get heaps of presents from—" Gilderoy frowns when he can't remember who gives him presents. But someone—no, a lot of people—do. He is sure.

A small smile spreads on the Healer's face. If he remembers that much, perhaps not all hope is lost. "All right, Gilderoy. Now I'm going to go wake up others. Don't be naughty. Perhaps Santa will send someone to visit you."

Gilderoy grins. "They will take my autograph?"

The Healer smiles. "They will." She just hopes someone comes by to see the poor man.

 **Word Count:** 520

 **Prompts used:**

From The Nativity Play

• Roman Soldier 2: (scenario) Opening presents on Christmas morning (500 minimum words)  
• Gilderoy Lockhart


	8. Wise Man 3

**The Wise Man**

 _Written by: Sam (HP Slash Luv)_

Sirius stared from across the room. He watched as James and Remus talked quietly. He watched the way James's eyes followed Evans when she walked in front of him.

He sighed. He knew his crush on James was useless. It wasn't going to go anywhere. For as long as he could remember, James had been infatuated by Evans. He didn't see that changing anytime soon.

Still, he couldn't help the way his heart sped up when James's chocolate eyes caught his and a smirk formed on his lips.

Sirius took a deep breath and began walking towards him, and by extension, Remus. He had been pretending forever that he didn't have feelings for James Potter and tonight was no different.

He did his best to push away treacherous thoughts about how the mistletoe hanging all around the room would provide a perfect opportunity for a kiss. No matter how tempting it mightbe to orchestrate such a kiss, Sirius knew he would feel empty afterwards. Not only would it leave him wanting more, but if he ever got a kiss from James, he wanted it to be a real one, not one he received due to manipulation on his part.

When he reached them, he smiled. "What are you two talking about?"

Remus shot a look at James and casually answered, "Oh, the whole idea of mistletoes and Christmas kisses."

Sirius felt a pang in his heart at the idea that he had just been thinking about the same thing, and he knew James had been thinking about it in regards to Evans. Still, he stuffed the feelings down. "So, are you going to get Evans under the mistletoe and work a little bit of magic?"

James laughed. "Not exactly. Actually, Remus was wondering if he would be able get McKinnon where he wants her."

Sirius looked at the werewolf in astonishment. "You and McKinnon?"

Remus shrugged and looked down at his feet. "She's cute, and nice, and smart. I don't know if she likes me, though."

Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus had no idea how many girls at Hogwarts actually found him adorable. "Trust me, Moony. She's into you. You definitely don't have to trick her under the mistletoe. All you have to do is walk over to her and kiss her, mistletoe or no mistletoe, and she'll be ecstatic."

Remus turned to stare at McKinnon, who was animatedly talking to Evans. "Really?"

"Really!" James and Sirius answered simultaneously.

Remus took a fortifying breath. "Okay. I'm doing this."

Sirius and James watched him march purposefully over towards the pair of girls. And just like they predicted, as soon as Remus kissed her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and eagerly returned it, causing a lot of nearby students to laugh and catcall.

Sirius turned to look back at James, and his breath caught at the intensity in James's gaze. "What is it, Prongs?"

"Nothing," James replied.

Sirius bit his bottom lip. "Are you sure? You seem out of it."

"I'm sure," James reassured him.

An hour or so passed. Remus was still with Marlene, but when Peter came over, James left him to go after Evans.

Sirius did his best to not stare longingly. He tried to pay attention to what Peter said, but his eyes kept roaming around the room, looking for James. He saw Evans, but James had completely disappeared. _'Maybe Evans rejected him again, so James is somewhere nursing his wounds,'_ he thought. That didn't make sense, though, because James never really let Evans's rejections get to him in the past.

The question was still there in his mind, though.

Where was James?

A few minutes passed and Evans came over to him and Peter. "What's up, Evans?" Sirius asked, doing his best to not show his hostility towards the girl who had James's affections and took it for granted.

"Black, you need to come with me."

Sirius didn't have to chance to question the order because she took his hand and pulled him away from Peter. "Evans, what's—"

"Shut up, and just keep walking."

Sirius's mouth closed. She must have a reason. She pulled him out of the Great Hall, and his eyes widened when he saw James leaning against the wall.

James straightened when he saw them. Lily let go of his hand, went to stand behind him, and pushed him so he stumbled forward.

James smiled and nodded his thanks to Evans.

"Just don't screw it up," she warned.

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

James smirked. "You're trapped."

"Trapped?"

James pointed to the ceiling, and that was when he saw the dangling mistletoe. "I've been trying to figure out how to get you under mistletoe all night, and Lily decided to help me."

Sirius's brain was moving quite slowly. "You wanted me under mistletoe?"

"Yes, I did."

Sirius swallowed. "But you and Evans—"

"Are just friends," James continued. "She was actually the one who helped me realize that I wanted to kiss you a lot more than I wanted to kiss her."

He remembered his advice to Remus earlier. "You know, you really didn't need mistletoe to kiss me, especially when you didn't even use subterfuge to get me here."

James shrugged. "I know, but I kind of had the fantasy that when we told the story of our first kiss in the future, it would seem more magical because of the addition of mistletoe."

Sirius laughed. That was just like James. He really was a romantic at heart. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against James's who eagerly returned it.

They moaned as they fell back against the wall. They broke away to chuckle.

"We really should keep it U-rated," James murmured against Sirius's lips.

"Screw U-Rated. Let's at least push it up to 12A."

James seemed to agree because he went back to kissing Sirius.


	9. The Donkey

**The Donkey**

 _Written by: Lexi (Book of Hope)_

.

 **I wish with all my heart that you'll stay by my side forever**

.

Taking a deep breath, Draco Malfoy closes his eyes for a short moment and enjoys the swift breeze of air on his face.

When he feels a small, soft hand on his shoulder his lips from into a bright smile and he turns around to look at his wife of three years.

"Is Scorpius asleep?" Draco asks with an amused smirk on his face.

Chuckling, Astoria nods her head and takes a step closer to lean onto the white marble banister of the elegant manor's balcony.

"Only _your_ son would fall asleep 5 minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve!" She laughs.

Her voice sounds like a sweet melody in his ears; one of the many reasons why he had fallen in love with the beautiful ebony-haired witch in the first place.

Smiling, he moves around and picks up the two glasses of champagne from the little table behind them and puts them down on the banister in front of them, before he takes Astoria in his arms.

Together, they look at the starry sky of the quiet December night.

' _Though it won't be so peaceful for very much longer,'_ the blond man thinks.

He enjoys all the times when she's close to him; even more now that his wife's slim figure is pressed against his; with her head leaning against his chest and the snowflakes gently falling from the sky.

"What time is it?" Astoria asks without taking her eyes away from the twinkling stars in the distance.

Shoving back the sleeve of his black suit, he glances at his watch.

"We're almost there," he answers and tightens his arms around her. "Let's count it down, shall we?"

"I'd love to," she whispers into his ear.

"Alright, then," the Slytherin says and moves the arms with his golden watch so Astoria can follow the passing of time with her own eyes.

When the ebony haired witch then turns her head ever so slightly to look at her husband, Draco – like everytime – gets completely lost in her azure blue eyes.

He still remembers the very first time he had truly noticed them… a couple of years ago… after the war… at a ministry Christmas ball…

… **..**

 _Draco had attended the ball only reluctantly. Overworked, he hadn't even had the time to arrange himself a female companion. But he had promised his mother to come, so here he was._

 _And to make matters worse, he now had to deal with all the single witches that were plainly throwing themselves at him whenever they could._

 _When he was about to exit the main hall through the small white door that led into the gardens, someone bumped straight into him._

 _All Draco could see was a swirl of blue fabrics, but his reflexes were still good, so he was luckily still able to catch the slim and elegant hand of the young woman that had run into him._

" _I am_ so _sorry!" A wonderful soft voice apologized immediately. "It was so freezing cold outside so I just turned in a hurry and – "_

" _Don't worry about it," Draco said, but for some reason he didn't let go of her hand. "I tend to turn corners rather quickly myself."_

 _The young woman obviously blushed and pulled a strand of her curly ebony hair – that had fallen right into her face – back behind her ear._

 _A shy smile appeared on her face when she finally looked at him._

 _For a moment, Draco was literally mesmerized by her beauty and even more by the magnificent azure blue of her sparkling eyes._

 _His earlier thoughts of leaving instantly vanished from his mind._

" _Would you, by any chance, grant me the honor of the next dance?" He asked her out of the blue and a feeling of nervous excitement was rushing through him._

 _Her blue eyes also widened a little in surprise, but she beamed brightly at him. "I would love to."_

 _A wave of relief flashed over him and delighted, he offered her his hand and led her to the dance floor._

" _I'm Draco, by the way," he introduced himself, though he didn't voice his surname in wise foresight. These days, he wasn't really proud of his name anymore…_

 _He then carefully put his hand on the small of her back and started to lead her with the first sounds of the soft melody._

" _Nice to meet you, Draco," she whispered and once again looked at him with her azure blue eyes that already made him go weak at the knees. "My name's Astoria."_

… **..**

The lovely memory warms his heart and he carefully takes his wife's hand in his own and squeezes it gently.

She's the best thing that ever happened to him; never in his whole life had he dared to believe that there was love for him in the world.

But Astoria showed him that it was possible; that despite all his flaws, he deserves to be loved and that there was no need to be afraid of it.

In a way, she made him a better man and Draco is still thankful for it.

Feeling a sudden shiver from his wife, he notices that she is freezing. Chuckling slightly, he removed his own jacked and puts it over her shoulders.

' _She'd never admit that she's cold,' he thinks smirking._

"Thank you," she whispers and kisses him softly on the cheek before she leans back against his body; into his embrace.

"No, thank _you,"_ he replies and tightens his arms around her.

She was his everything; the most beautiful and kind woman in the whole wizarding world who had for some unexplainable reason chosen him over all the men out there. And she had given him something he thought he'd never have. A loving family.

It's not that he doesn't love his mother; because he does. But as a child, Draco didn't grow up in a loving home; they had to live up to the standards of the pure-blood society and… well, he'd rather not think about it now.

Glancing at his watch once more he realizes that the year is finally coming to an end.

"It's time," he says and shows her the little watch.

" _Three_ ," they say in unison and take out their wands.

" _Two_."

" _One_."

" _Zero_."

At the same time, they wave their wands to shoot sparks up in the air; in the sky above them they explode along with all the other fireworks of muggles and wizards to create a spectacular few of thousands of different colours.

For a moment, the whole night seems to be enlightened; the gardens underneath them shimmer in a soft green and the snowflakes that are still falling cause the impressive white marble balcony to resemble a snow-covered ice palace.

But the blond man has only eyes for the beautiful witch in his arms; and wishes with all his heart that they will spend many more years together in the future; watching this spectacular night.

Draco then uses the opportunity to turn his wife around, encircle her waist with one hand to bring her closer; the other hand softly cups her cheeks so he can look into her beautiful azure blue eyes.

"Happy New Year, Astoira," he whispers before he lovingly kisses her on the lips; their love making them oblivious to the fireworks around them and the champagne glasses remain forgotten on the marble banister.


End file.
